Singapore introduced Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP) and Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) in late 2021 to facilitate smoother travel to the country without a quarantine.
These are now scrapped from April 1, 2022, and replaced by Vaccinated Travel Framework (VTF).
You can access Singapore’s information for visitors here.
Fully vaccinated travelers don’t need to apply for a VTP before traveling to Singapore and can arrive on any flight. However, travelers still need to have a predeparture PCR-RT or antigen test. There will be no test upon arriving in Singapore.
Visitors also need to have insurance with a coverage of S$30,000 or higher that also covers Covid expenses. They also need to fill out the streamlined electronic SG Arrival Card.
Singapore airport will resume normal activities and won’t separate transit passengers and those leaving or entering the country.
Singapore intends to reclaim its position as a transit hub and visitor destination in Asia and plans to have 50% of the prepandemic air travel numbers restored by the end of 2022.
Fully Vaccinated Definition For Singapore:
Accepted COVID-19 Vaccines for Entry to Singapore
Travellers are considered fully vaccinated if they meet the following conditions at least 2 weeks before arrival in Singapore:
- Received the full regimen of WHO EUL Vaccines (below) and met the minimum dose interval period; or
- For travellers who contracted COVID-19 before being vaccinated, they must have received at least one dose of any WHO EUL Vaccines (below) at least 28 days from their first diagnosis of a COVID-19 infection. Travellers must produce acceptable proof of their first positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
Travellers who do not meet any of the above requirements are not considered fully vaccinated for entry into Singapore.
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
17 days | |
Announcement From Singapore:
Move to Vaccinated Travel Framework
21. Over the past few months, we have simplified our country/region classification and border measures to pave the way for more Vaccinated Travel. With many countries/regions having passed the peak of their Omicron wave and our local COVID-19 situation stabilising, we are ready to launch the Vaccinated Travel Framework for all travellers including Short-Term Visitors (STVs). We will classify all countries/regions either under the General Travel or the Restricted Category and accord border measures by individual travellers’ vaccination status. All countries/regions will come under the General Travel Category to begin with. There are no countries/regions in the Restricted Category currently.
General Travel Category Border Measures
22. From 31 March 2022, 2359 hours, the border measures for travellers arriving via air or sea checkpoints from countries/regions in the General Travel Category will be as follows:
a. All fully vaccinated travellers5 and non-fully vaccinated children aged 12 and below6 are permitted to enter Singapore. They will not need to apply for entry approvals or take designated VTL transport. They will continue to be subjected to a pre-departure test (PDT) within 2 days before departure for Singapore, but will no longer be required to serve a Stay-Home Notice (SHN) or undergo an unsupervised Antigen Rapid Test (ART) after arriving in Singapore. We will continue to monitor the local and global COVID-19 situations and consider removing the PDT requirement in the coming weeks;
b. Non-fully vaccinated Long-Term Pass Holders (LTPHs) and STVs aged 13 and above are generally not allowed to enter Singapore, with the following exceptions (i) LTPHs medically ineligible for vaccines ; (ii) LTPHs aged 13 to 17, subject to the appropriate measures7 and (iii) LTPHs and STVs with other valid entry approval (e.g. for compassionate reasons). They are required to take a PDT within 2 days before departure for Singapore, undergo a 7-day SHN, and take a PCR test at the end of their SHN period.
23. To facilitate Singapore Citizens (SCs), Permanent Residents (PRs), Work Pass Holders and other LTPHs who may face difficulties obtaining valid PDTs within 2 days before returning to Singapore, we have introduced remote supervised ART services by approved licensed providers in Singapore for such travellers arriving from selected countries. Going forward, we will accept Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests, professionally administered ARTs and ARTs supervised by approved licensed providers in Singapore (including remotely supervised ARTs) taken within 2 days before departure for Singapore as valid PDTs. Travellers who wish to use the remotely supervised ART PDT services licensed in Singapore should book their slots early with these providers via their respective websites and bring along approved ART kits from Singapore for their remotely supervised ART. Refer to https://go.gov.sg/remote-art-overseas-sg for a list of approved remotely supervised ART PDT providers, and the travellers and countries/regions that this service applies to.
24. We are also working towards the full resumption of land travel with Malaysia for fully vaccinated persons. Details on the exact border measures for fully vaccinated travellers entering Singapore via the land borders will be announced jointly with Malaysia.
Restricted Category Border Measures
25. In the event of a new variant with potentially significant public health risk, we may re-classify significantly affected countries/regions under the Restricted Category with stringent border measures, such as the need for entry approvals for STVs to enter Singapore. This is to enable us to limit the risk of importing new and potentially dangerous variants if they arise, as well as to buy time for experts to better understand the characteristics of these variants and to develop appropriate public health recommendations.8
26. See Annex E for details on the border measures for travellers arriving from 31 March 2022, 2359 hours. The latest border requirements can be found on the SafeTravel website. Travellers are strongly advised to visit the website to check the latest border measures before entering Singapore, and be prepared to adhere to the prevailing border measures upon entry into Singapore.
Updates to Charging Policies for Vaccinated Travellers
27. Currently, SCs/PRs/LTPH travellers are responsible for medical bills in hospitals and dedicated COVID-19 treatment and recovery facilities, if they develop onset of symptoms or test positive for COVID-19 within 14 days of their return to Singapore. With the introduction of the Vaccinated Travel Framework, we will streamline our charging policies for travellers as follows:
a. The charging policy for SCs/PRs/LTPH travellers who are subjected to General Travel Category border measures will be aligned with the prevailing charging policy for treatment of local community COVID-19 cases (i.e. non-travellers). This means that such travellers who have been fully vaccinated9 will no longer be required to pay for medical bills incurred for COVID-19 treatment in hospitals and CTFs, even if they develop onset of symptoms or test positive for COVID-19 within 14 days of their return to Singapore. Any future changes to the charging policy for local community cases will correspondingly apply to this group of travellers. Travellers who are not fully vaccinated will remain responsible for their COVID-19 treatment costs, as per the charging policy for unvaccinated individuals who contracted COVID-19 in the community.
b. SCs/PRs/LTPH travellers who are subjected to Restricted Category border measures, will be required to pay for medical bills in hospitals and dedicated COVID-19 treatment and recovery facilities, if they develop onset of symptoms or test positive for COVID-19 within 7 days of their return to Singapore, regardless of their vaccination status.
28. The above measures will apply to all new admissions from henceforth. Patients who are to pay for their medical bills may continue to tap on their regular healthcare financing arrangements to help pay for their bills.10 For avoidance of doubt, there is no change to the charging policy for Short Term Pass Holders, who remain responsible for any COVID-19 medical bill incurred, throughout their stay in Singapore.
Conclusion
This is a welcomed and overdue change for Singapore, and I hope that they eventually drop the predeparture test requirement too.
The number of visitors to Singapore has stayed low, and those that have arrived have had ties to the city and are not genuine “tourists.”
The hope of returning to 50% air capacity by the end of 2022 compared to 2019 is in doubt unless China moves away from its zero COVID strategy and opens up.
